A Players in Every Position

Step #7 - in the 20 Steps to Build a Great Business

A Players in Every Position

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"There's something rare, something finer far, something much more scarce than ability. It's the ability to recognize ability."

  - Elbert Hubbard

"A Players in every position? Impossible!", I was once told by a business owner. "I can't afford to have A Players in every position." "Why?", I asked. "My labor costs are already too high and there are not A Players for many of the jobs I have in my company." was his response.

My answer:

1. You have to start looking at Labor as an "investment, not an expense". If you look at it as an investment it doesn't matter what you spend (invest), it is what the return on that investment is that matters. A Players might cost 20-30% more, but they can produce 2-3 times what an average employee will. Which means you can run the company with less people. The Container Store  pays 30% more for an A Player but they run their stores with 1/3 the number of people other retailers do.
2. You have to define what an A Players is. Look for these 3 characteristics: 
   • They are competent at the job - Skill
   • They want to learn and get better - Will
   • They are engaged with the team, your company, they believe what you believe (values)
3. Topgrade. You can't have this team of A Players overnight, you have to slowly, begin coaching, teaching, recruiting and building a Virtual Bench of A Players. Over time you can Topgrade your team like an NFL team does. C Players will leave, B Players will be coached up to A Players, and you can do this with relative ease once you know you have a Virtual Bench in place to draft from.

A Players in every position - think about it. Surrounding yourself with people who are engaged, wanting to learn and get better, accountable for results - a place where you and everyone else likes coming to each day. Productivity will soar, profits will follow.